"Look, there's some kind of statue over there," Paimon said, pointing toward the statue, which I recognized as one of the Seven Archons, Barbatos, or perhaps the drunkard Bart Venti. Of course, those who don't know immediately get upset at how a boy who looks about 12 can drink so calmly...
Anyway, Lumine and I calmly approached the statue, and of course, I knew what would happen. Sure enough, Lumine touched the statue, causing a small phenomenon, thereby absorbing the Anemo element, and now she could use it for battle without the Eye of God.
"Um, guys, I think those creatures aren't very friendly," Paimon said, and Lumine and I, still a little confused, saw creatures hopping toward us, which I, of course, recognized as slimes. Perhaps one of the weakest species in this world, one that even children can defeat... well, probably...
"Leave them to me," Lumine said, stepping forward, a seemingly ordinary sword appearing in her hands.
Without hesitation, she launched an attack, and of course, her Anemo element activated, which also surprised her, but she didn't let it distract her; with one attack, she recognized Tarnato, with which she dealt with some of the slides.
"Easier than it looked," Paimon declared, looking smug, as if she'd defeated them herself.
Meanwhile, Lumine continued to stare at her hands, as if trying to figure out what kind of power she'd used.
"Okay, let's continue on our way, I'm getting really hungry," Paimon said, oblivious to what had just happened, causing me to simply roll my eyes, as did Lumine.
Lumine and Paimon went ahead, and I stayed behind because I saw a slime nearby. Thinking I wanted it gone, it instantly froze into ice and immediately shattered into millions of pieces. It all happened in about two seconds, so Paimon and Lumine didn't hear or see anything.
I could only stand in silent shock. As far as I remember, Evernight wasn't capable of such a thing—freezing an enemy and exploding them with a single thought... I'm sure even the most powerful people with powers aren't capable of such a thing.
These powers could even be considered divine, meaning someone or something had bestowed them upon me. And now I could only wonder what they needed me for, because I didn't believe that this being, who could be a god or goddess, would have given me these powers out of nowhere. Perhaps they were bored and saw me as entertainment.
I briefly raised my head to the sky, where I saw the outline of Celestia. I wondered if the Heavenly Principles had sensed me. And if so, should I prepare for a battle I wasn't sure I was ready for? While I may have great power, my experience is only in gaming, so I hope they won't notice me.
"Evernight, are you coming?" Paimon asked.
I stopped looking at the sky and turned my gaze to my companions, who stood calmly and watched me.
I could only nod to them, and we continued on our way. Meanwhile, I watched as a previously unfamiliar feeling began to grow within me. No, it wasn't love, as I don't chase every woman, but rather camaraderie or friendship, something I'd never experienced before. Although I know these two from the game, it's not the same as real life. They're not game characters, but real people with their own feelings and emotions. Even though I've only known them for a short time, I felt like I'd been traveling with them for a long time.
"Look! There's something up ahead." Paimon said as we walked through the forest.
Lumin and I exchanged glances and nodded. We ran to a tree and hid behind it. I knew who we'd meet, but I tried not to show any knowledge.
And sure enough, we saw a boy who looked about 12 years old, and next to him stood a large blue dragon. You could tell the boy was talking to the dragon, as if calming it down.
"Is he talking to a dragon?" Paimon voiced our thoughts, and as soon as she said those words, the Anemo element on Lumine's wrists glowed, which the dragon must have sensed. It roared and she lunged at the boy, but he jumped aside.
"Who's there?" he shouted, and before we could answer, he simply vanished, and the dragon roared again and flew away.
"Is everything okay?" I asked.
"I think so, but the wind almost blew me away," Paimon said.
"I'm fine too," Lumine replied.
"Right now I'm more interested in where that boy went?" Paimon asked, to which I simply shrugged.
"I thought dragons didn't exist," Lumine said.
"Well, as we've seen, they do exist," I replied.
"Look, there's something floating in the air," Paimon said.
"Are you talking about yourself?" Lumin joked, and I wanted to laugh, but I held it in.
"How rude! I was actually talking about that red thing," Paimon said, pouting, pointing at the red thing that looked like a droplet.
Approaching the droplet, Paimon spoke again.
"Hmm... It looks like a crystal... But it looks rather ominous, so let's take it," Paimon said matter-of-factly.
"It reminds me of Evernight's eyes..." But as soon as Lumin realized she'd said it out loud, she fell silent and blushed. I, of course, pretended I hadn't heard, but inside, I felt a growing sense of embarrassment.
Is it because I became a girl? That didn't happen to me in my past life, well, because I didn't have a girlfriend, but even so, I doubt I would have been so embarrassed...
So, we took the crystal and continued along the forest road, until...
"Hey, wait a minute!" we heard a strange girl scream, and the next second, a young woman dressed all in red and white, with a bow on top of her head that resembled feathers, flew past us. It made her look very cute.
As soon as she landed, she approached us.
"May the wind protect you, travelers..." she fell silent when she noticed me.
"Beautiful..." she said in a half-whisper, but we heard her clearly.
I felt a new wave of embarrassment, but it didn't show on my face.
"Evernight, seriously? Are you going to seduce every girl we meet? Will you be seducing guys too?" Paimon asked.
As soon as I heard about the guys, I couldn't help but feel disgusted, which showed on my face for everyone to see.
"I see, no guys, only girls," Paimon said, spreading her arms, to which I suppressed my disgust and rolled my eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to!" the girl said.
"It's okay, I'm used to it," I replied, even though it wasn't true.
"Anyway. I'm Amber, a scout for the Knights of Favonius. You're not from around here, so I assume you're traveling? Could you introduce yourself?" Amber asked.
"Amber, we don't want any trouble," said Paimon.
"All suspicious characters say that!" said Amber.
"We don't want anything bad! My name is Evernight, that blonde girl's name is Lumine, and the flying girl is Paimon," I replied.
"You have strange names, especially yours…" she said, looking me straight in the face again, causing her to blush again.
But, coming to her senses, she looked at Paimon.
"What kind of creature is that?" asked Amber.
"A living can of food!" said Lumine, causing me to snort involuntarily.
"Hey! I'm not a living can of food! Paimon is just Piamon!" Paimon exclaimed.
"Who refers to herself in the third person," I added, joining in the fun.
"Evernight? You too? Why is everyone making fun of me?" Paimon said, pouting.
This time, I couldn't help but laugh quietly, after which Lumine joined me while Paimon sulked.
After a few minutes of laughter, I looked at Paimon and said,
"Don't be offended, Paimon, we're just joking. Like normal friends," I said.
"Hmm... Okay, I'll forgive you, but only if you buy me lunch," Paimon said, and we laughed again, only this time Paimon joined in.
"Ahem..." we heard a cough, aimed at getting our attention.
With all the joking, we'd forgotten about Amber, who was also present.
"Sorry..." I said.
"It's okay, but you'd better go to town, as a dragon was seen not far from here. The town is not far from here, I'll take you there," she said.
"Are you sure you don't have other things to do?" Paimon asked.
"It's okay, and besides, I'm not sure I can trust you yet," she said in a higher tone.
"Why are you talking to guests like that?" Lumine asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I shouldn't speak in that tone. I'm a knight, after all," Amber said.
"It's okay. We understand, we're strangers after all, so your wariness is justified," I said, shaking my head.
"Then let's not waste time. Come on, I'll walk you to town," Amber said, and we followed her silently.